Carly’s POV

“Are you serious?” I watched Harry’s eyes fill with tears when I told him about Sarah.

“Yea.” I mumbled watching his head drop and tears run down his cheeks.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his torso. Resting my head on his shoulders, he embraced me and let out a whimper which sent me over the edge. Tears streamed down my cheeks again while we held each other. I pulled back to look into his eyes.

“Can we see her?” He sniffled and I nodded.

“Let’s get changed and then go, okay?” I cupped his cheeks while he nodded and bit his bottom lip. “It’s gonna be okay Harry.” I wiped his cheeks dry.

“I know.” His voice was at a whisper.

“I’m gonna go change. I looked up the weather on the way home, it’s raining there.” I knew that didn't matter but I wanted to try and distract him even if only for a few minutes.


“Hi, how can I help you?” The receptionist at the hospital asked with a polite smile.

“Hi, we’re looking for Sarah Lentscher.” I tried to talk with a strong voice but it came out shaky.

“Who are you to her?” I knew she was just doing her job but I just wanted her to hurry up.

“I was asked here by her dad.” Attitude was obvious in my voice while Harry scoffed.

“Are you family?” She asked again as Harry pushed his hood off and looked at her.

“No, we are not family. We are really close friends, her father asked us to come. Now can you just tell us where her room is?” Harry snapped making her jaw clench.

“I cant do that.” She shook her head.

“Are you kidding me?” Harry was mad.

“Harry, just come here. I have an idea.” I pulled him back and held my phone.

I called Sarah’s phone but nobody answered. Harry was getting even more upset when nobody answered. I decided to try again until somebody answered.

“Carly?” The same husky voice answered.

“Yea, Harry and I are here but we cant get in.” I mumbled into the phone as Harry paced the hallway.

“I’ll come out and get you.” He sounded like he was about to cry when he said that.

“Thank you.” I said as he hung up. “Her dad is coming to get us.”

He nodded and dropped his head. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed his forearm gently. He looked up at me before wrapping his arms around my body as my arms did the same.

“I love you.” He mumbled into my ear.

“I love you too.” I whispered before pulling back.

“Carly?” I turned around to see a tall, dark haired guy standing a few feet away.

“Yea, hi.” I felt Harry wrap his arm around my waist while I looked at Sarah’s dad.

“Hi, I’m Danny.” He looked from me to Harry.

“I’m Harry.” He let go of me to shake his hand.

“It sucks to be meeting you like this but it’s nice to finally meet you.” I could tell Danny was trying to lighten the mood even though he looked sad.

“You too.” I mumbled grabbing Harry’s hand so I could entwine our fingers.

“Let’s go back and see her, she woke up just a little bit ago.” Danny walked ahead of us as I examined his body.

“How long was she out for?” Harry asked shyly.

“About 18 hours.” Danny mumbled.

I didn't know what to say to him so I just stayed quiet. Harry pulled me a little bit closer so our hips were almost touching as his hand rested on my other hip. I was watching Danny walk ahead of us. He was toned but not super muscly, I could see his muscles through his tight long sleeve. I could see where Sarah got her love for working out. Finally we got to the end of the hallway where Danny stopped and turned around.

“You guys don’t have to stay or even say anything. I think just having you here will help her.” His voice was shaky as he held the door handle.

Harry and I nodded and he pushed the door open. I took a shaky breath and walked into the dark room. Harry followed behind me as I looked around at all the things connected to her. Her mom and older brother were sitting down on the chairs next to the bed when I looked at them. I watched her mom stand up and walk toward me with her brother following behind her.

“You must Carly and Harry?” Her mom looked a little unsteady. “I’m Julia and this is Alex.” She gestured to the muscular boy standing next to her with a small smile.

“It’s nice to meet you but really, you don’t need to try to be polite. I know this isn't easy for you.” I reached out and touched her arm, trying to comfort her without over stepping any boundaries.

“Thank you.” She smiled quickly before looking at Danny. “Maybe we should give them a few minutes with her.

My eyes flashed to Sarah as her family left the room. She looked shy and uncomfortable while she fidgeted in the hospital bed. Harry made sure the door was closed all the way before sitting down in one of the chairs.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly.

“Yea.” She whispered out, still trying not to make eye contact with either of us.

“What happened last night that sent you over the edge?” Harry reached over and grabbed her hand that was messing with the sheets.

I took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the bed, near her feet. She moved her feet away from me as if not to bug me so I set my hand on her ankles. A gasp fell from her lips as her eyes shot up to me.

“You're okay Sarah, you don’t need to worry about anything.” I just wanted her to be calm and comfortable. “What happened after we talked? When we hung up, you seemed like you were happy.”

“They did it again. They started the rumors but worse.” She sat up and looked at Harry. “I know it seems stupid to do this over something as stupid as rumors but the-“

“I understand, you don’t need to justify it. We’ve both been where you are.” Harry didn't know how true that sentence was. “Just tell us what’s going on.”

“Uhh…” She looked at me with pleading eyes.

“He wont tell anyone, I can promise you that.” I already knew where she was going with it.

“They were saying how I was a slut and I slept with the a few of the football players and other people.” I could hear her strength breaking down as she said it. “And that I had an abortion.”

A single tear escaped from her eye when she finished that painful sentence. I moved closer to her and wiped her cheek. She sniffled as her eyes welled up. I looked at Harry and could see the anger behind his eyes. His biggest annoyance is when people mistreat other people for their own selfish gain.

“I’ll be right back.” I touched her lap and saw her nod slightly before I stood up. “Harry, can I talk to you for a minute?” I walked over to the door and he came with me. “Can you give us a few minutes to talk about this stuff please? I know what she’s dealing with and I know that it’s really hard to talk about in front of a guy.”

“Yea, I’ll take her family down to the cafeteria.” He kissed my cheek and walked over to the edge of the bed. “Do you want anything from the cafeteria?”

“Yea, can you bring me a chocolate chip muffin?” She was mumbling with a smile. “Please.”

“Of course.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

I closed the door behind him and looked at her. She was still sniffling when I sat down next to her. With a sigh I moved so my back was against the footboard and I cross my legs.

“I’m going to tell you something that I haven't even told Harry.” I took a deep breath.

“Okay.” She nodded.

“All through elementary and middle school I was bullied but it got way worse in high school. I used to be a lot bigger and a lot dorkier so I was an easy target. They said mean stuff about my weight and called me ugly and just said crap about my family. But when I was sophomore, I worked my ass off and lost all the weight and seemed to get a lot prettier. As things went on I got a boyfriend and ended up losing my virginity to him and then we broke up almost immediately after it. He decided to blab and tell everybody about it; saying I did a lot more than I really did.” I paused trying to slow my brain down enough to focus. “When some of the other girls found out, they called me a tramp and a whore and basically everything else that they could. It got to the point where I would ditch school just to get away, I’d cut almost everyday and nobody knew since I had no friends to talk to about it. One night, I was in my bathroom after a very long day and I cut a little too deep and cut open a vital vein. I almost bled out but my mom came in just in time. The next thing I know is I’m awake in a hospital bed a week later hooked up to all the same machines you are and my parents and the two girls I was best friends with in 2nd grade were in the room. I hadn’t talked to those girls since about 7th grade when someone spread rumors that we were talking about each other but they were there. I explained everything to those girls and cried and did everything that a normal person would do in that situation.” I looked at her and saw that she looked really into my story.

“And? Do you still talk to them?” She was impatient.

“I’ll get to that.” I laughed. “They told me that I shouldn’t let them bug me, I should ignore all the dumbfucks and low life’s trying to mess up my life and be who I am and be confident about it because I was beautiful and a better person than them. It took time but I got past my insecurities and learned to ignore all the people who were talking crap about me. I went to therapy and started talking to my parents about stuff and got really close with those girls. And to this day, I have them to lean on. And I’ve never cut or done anything like that since that night.” I saw her smiling at me. “And I know that I’m not always around because of my job and everything else but you can call me or Harry for anything, we will always be here for you.”

“Thank you. I know that I said I wouldn’t cut again but I really think this is it, I don’t ever want to deal with this again.” She shook her head as tears came to her eyes. “I want to be happy and I want help.”

Those words made me smile. Not because of her pain but because you have to reach the point of asking for help to know that you’ll make it through the rest.

“Carly, will you please help me?” She looked at me as a tear ran down my cheek.

“Yes, of course I will.” I leaned over and hugged her.

Notes

This chapter is really long, I know but it was important.I hope you like it, please let me know what you think.